Poll: Which Blu-rays Will You Buy in the July 2016 Criterion Sale?

Criterion has been one busy little label over the past six months. Since the last Barnes & Noble sale ended in late November, nearly 50 new Criterion Blu-ray discs have been released. How many will you buy at 50% off?

At each of these semi-annual Barnes & Noble sales, I try to compile a list of recent Criterion titles that are now eligible for the discount pricing. The following is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of every Criterion Blu-ray. This is merely a reference to those discs issued since B&N’s previous sale ended on November 30th, 2015. If you plan to buy older Criterion releases during this sale, vote “Other” and tell us which ones in the Comments section.

Starting yesterday through August 1st, all in-print Criterion Collection titles are 50% off MSRP, both in stores and at barnesandnoble.com. The discounted price applies to upcoming titles that will be released through the end of the sale period, but not to any preorders scheduled for after the sale ends.

Which Blu-rays Will You Buy in the July 2016 Criterion Sale?

'The American Friend'

'Le amiche'

'Barcelona'

'Bicycle Thieves'

'Bitter Rice'

'Brief Encounter'

'A Brighter Summer Day'

'Burroughs: The Movie'

'Carnival of Souls'

'La chienne'

'City Lights' (single-disc reissue)

'Clouds of Sils Maria'

'Complete Lady Snowblood'

'Death by Hanging'

'Downhill Racer'

'Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'

I managed to pick up a few of these titles at Costco for the same 50% price, but Costco’s selection is limited. Of those I still need, ‘Dr. Strangelove’ and ‘The Graduate’ will get priority for this sale. If I can scrounge up some money, other discs I’d love to own include ‘The American Friend’, ‘Bitter Rice’, ‘Gilda’, ‘The In-Laws’, ‘The Kid’, and the Wim Wenders ‘Road Trilogy’ box. Of course, I also still have tons of titles released previously that I’ve never gotten around to buying.

About Josh Zyber

Josh Zyber is a veteran movie and video disc reviewer from Laserdisc to DVD and beyond. He's previously written for DVDFile.com, DVDTalk.com and Home Theater magazine. These days, he wastes most of his free time managing this blog and writing the occasional Blu-ray review for High-Def Digest.

32 comments

Johngordon

Chris B

Sad to say I’m sitting the sale out this time around. Being that I live in Canada, it’s only worthwhile to order a whole pile of titles to reap any kind of monetary benefit. And since I can’t afford to do that…I won’t.

That being said, there’s actually not a whole lot of titles I find enticing. Criterion is in a bit of a slump for me TBH. Hopefully I’m in a better position for the November sale and there are movies I’m more excited about…

cardpetree

Chris B

Eh…..serious home video collectors consider Criterion releases the pinnacle of home entertainment discs.. They are high-end blu-rays usually with extensively restored A/V quality and exclusive supplements. Not to mention the pretty packaging and warm fuzzy feeling that only gets stronger the more you own.

The downside to Criterion is their sometimes questionable selections for releases and a group of die-hards online tha I refer to as the “cult of Criterion”. Obnoxious blowhards who will heap blind praise on any and all Criterion release and shit all over anyone who offers up the slightest amount of criticism.

Criterion is a good company but not perfect (like any other I suppose). The real question is whether or not they release anything you’d actually be interested in watching (never mind owning). For me personally it’s slowed down to a scant few relases that I’d actuallu like to watch which is at least good news for my wallet. Then again, lately I tend to stick with more recent North American films as opposed to their foreign cinema releases and classic movies….

If you don’t own any and are on the fence, I highly recommend Thief, The Thin Red Line and King of the Hill. They are among the most accessible and worthwhile CC Blu-Ray’s IMHO.

Csm101

I’m broke, but I think I have enough to scrounge for the remastered The Graduate. I would also like The New World, Lady Snow blood, Fantastic Planet, Bitter Rice, maybe Dressed to Kill and I still want The Ice Storm.

I just read that Criterion launched its first region B-compatible discs in the United Kingdom in April. That’s good news (for I don’t have a region A-player, and Criterion’s domestic discs are always region-locked). As such, I never benefitted from the sale. HDD’s Michael Palmer did pick up one title for me last year, but I haven’t found a way to play said disc.

I’ll probably skip this time, already having a big stack of unwatched discs on hand.

However, the Aug-Sep releases have some good ones, so maybe next time:

Cat People (1942): [Val Lewton– attention must be paid]
Night Train to Munich (1940) [Carol Reed must have been watching Hitchcock]
Chimes at Midnight (1965) [Orson Welles as Falstaff]
Woman in the Dunes (1964) [one of the most beautiful b&w films I can recall; so weird as to be almost SF]

-Bill

Ronald Moody

Barnes & Noble beat them to the punch. I just ordered The Graduate, Easy Rider, The Manchurian Candidate and Dr. Strangelove from them. Else, I would purchase them. There are several more I want, but I’ll have to wait until the next sale for them.

Heaven’s Gate
The Night of the Hunter
Love Streams
Grey Gardens
Days of Heaven
The Black Stallion
My Darling Clementine
Ace in the Hole

John Smith

Chris B

Those are actually the only two titles this month I want. The New World because it’s the last movie Malick made with a coherent narrative, and Touch of Zen is rather intriguing. Would you recommend a blind-buy? Is it kinda Crouching Tiger-esque?

John Smith

Well Ang Lee said A Touch of Zen was his inspiration for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon so yes it’s similar. BUT A Touch of Zen is sort of a 2001: A Space Odyssey for martial arts film. I think you should read some more about the film before blind buy it, you might not like the film. It’s beautifully shot though so I think it’s worth a blind buy just for the visual alone, I’m pretty sure the Criterion disc will have a superb HD transfer.

Jason Radcliff

Csm101

Damnit! They didn’t have The Graduate, but I did have them order it. I forgot I got payed today so I’m a little less broke than I thought. I picked up The Ice Storm finally, Bitter Rice, and Lady Snowblood. That Dressed To Kill is calling to me as well as a few other titles I wasn’t anticipating picking up. I guess I have plenty of time…

Ordered from the website – New World, Carnival of Souls, The Graduate, Mulholland Drive, Dressed to Kill, Moonrise Kingdom, Jellyfish Eyes, Bitter Rice and The Blob.
If I make it to a local (35 miles) store I might get Dr. Strangelove… The wish/watch/moment of weakness list also contains Fantastic Planet, In a Lonely Place, The Player, Manchurian Candidate, Easy Rider, 12 Angry Men, On the Waterfront, Sword of Doom, Godzilla, Thief, Repo Man and Ride With the Devil. Of course the moment of weakness part should stand out because if I wanted any of these I could order from the website with the discount coupon. Dr. Strangelove is the only one currently unavailable online.

William Henley

I think I only have three of their Blu-Rays (I would have to look, may have four or five, but three come to mind).

Of of this list, I might be willing to revisit Dr Strangelove, but I don’t think it will be a buy for me, more like a curiosity. Fantastic Planet is also a curiosity,

Other than that, there is nothing that sounds interesting to me. I check out Criterion’s Youtube channel from time to time to check out what they are releasing in hopes that I will find a gem, but I haven’t found anything yet that I wasn’t already familar with.

Subscribe to The Bonus View RSS

Get all latest Bonus View content delivered to your email daily!

Welcome to The Bonus View presented by High-Def Digest!

This blog serves as a catch-all for topics, beyond Blu-ray, that interest us as home theater junkies including movies in theaters, high-definition gear, television shows, video games and 3D programming.